Gescha - Crayon Politics

This is kind of a (Car)melo-dramatic (topical, ’cause the NBA is back!) statement, but Gescha’s album Crayon Politics is the kind of album that validates my continued work on the hill. I’m late getting around to posting it, but I’m happy to help spread the word about a guy that will easily be your favorite Saskachewan based MC of Romanian-Asian descent if you’ll give him the chance.

 

It sounds a little simplistic, but Gescha’s album pretty much offers everything I want out of a hip hop album right now. It features a talented MC who is an engaging listen, and who writes songs that can not only make you nod your head, but are often actually about something and can make the listener think (should they be so inclined) about what the artist is trying to say. The production on the album is really solid throughout and the guests that show up are all high quality. I even love the album title (and the cover art), with Crayon Politics being a perfect descriptor for the current state of politics in North America and beyond.

 

That said, I think the thing that impresses me most about Crayon Politics is the amount of energy and variety Gescha manages to pack, rather effortlessly, into a 13 song album. You can find a fun, summary love song in the form of Love Pirates, and then a few songs later there’s Wake, a contemplative posse cut that features Cali’s AWOL One and Calgary MC Cam The Wizard. The Wind, a song dedicated to the seemingly fragile current mental state of Gescha’s father is perhaps the album’s most thoughtful moment. Mostly though, the music is groove-able, and funky enough to match Gescha’s sing-song flow. The title track, which matches concious lyrics with Tom Pickett’s smooth vocals on the hook, is a perfect example, and the jazzy My Streets Dreaming came on the shuffle a couple times and I was sure it had to be 90s hip hop that I couldn’t place right away.

 

Here’s something you be able to figure out right away if you give Crayon Politics a listen: Gescha is a talented guy with a good album on his hands here. So go check it out.

 

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MP3:: Gescha – My Streets Dreaming
Web:: gescha.bandcamp.com

Gescha – Love Pirates